"God blesses hard work, and I've certainly been overblessed," said celebrity cook Paula Deen, speaking from her home in Savannah, Ga. And she's still working hard.

AP PHOTO/J. PAT CARTERPaula Deen will appear at Harrah's Casino on March 1.

The last time Deen came to New Orleans, in October 2006, she was supporting a good cause, appearing at the Hotel Monteleone's Literary Luncheon series to benefit the New Orleans Public Library.

"I was talking to the boys about this the other day," Deen said.

Everybody knows "the boys" are her sons Jamie and Bobby, who are Food Network celebrities in their own right.

"We were talking about how great it is to know that you really can make a difference. This is one of the most wonderful things we've had the opportunity to do, and it feels so good. The only thing is, hunger is almost not curable in the fact that you eat and four hours later you're hungry again. That food will be gone in 24 hours."

That ability to face tough facts and keep on plugging away is one of Deen's distinctive characteristics.

In her 2007 memoir, "It' Ain't All About the Cookin,'¤" written with Sherry Suib Cohen, she describes her tough road to success, from the brown-bag lunch business she started with her sons as a strapped single mom; to the eventual launch of the family restaurant, The Lady & Sons; to her discovery by Food Network guru Gordon Elliott. It's a classic American success story.

It's also a classic Southern autobiography, full of good stories and straight talk, a lot of gratitude, a lot of forgiveness -- here's Paula Deen, warts and all.

The book is filled with the sweetness of a Georgia childhood, the sadness at the loss of her parents and the beginning of the agoraphobia that she faced for years. She's straightforward about the end of her marriage, a long love affair with a married man, the moments of anger at flash points along the way, and the personal price of success. But through it all, she knew that with hard work, love of family and fate, that things would work out.

And so they did, with a business that keeps on expanding and a new love -- river pilot Michael Groover, whom she married in 2004.

The book is filled with her salty language and lust for life.

"My boys sometimes say, 'Mama, you need to tone it down,' and I say, 'Well, I am so sorry, boys. Your mother is 61 years old and yes, I have a love life and it's a wonderful thing.' They can forget me tonin' it down."

"I had a lot of people on my team that were concerned for me because I pretty much told it all," Deen said. "But how do you help somebody if you don't tell¤'em the whole truth?"

Now that she's achieved success with her restaurants, best-selling books, and television shows, what's left? Her magazine, "Cooking with Paula Deen," for one thing. "It's so much fun," she said, "and it's doing absolutely phenomenal! I'm so thrilled with the response that people have had to it.

"And this year, we're really fixin' to make our mark as a lifestyle, with products and things like that. My relationship with Smithfield Foods and Gail Pittman (the designer who makes the lovely dishes for her shows) just keep growing. And I'm fixin' to come out with cookware and my own cast iron pieces. This is the year of product."

No only that, but Deen is expanding her restaurant empire to Tunica, Miss., where she is opening her first restaurant outside Savannah in partnership with Harrah's Grand, and she is working on her first children's cookbook.

"It's so much fun to get up every day and just see what's going to happen," she said.

And who knows? You might just catch her at the tables this weekend.

"Honey, I'm a slot slut," she laughed. "Yes, you will find me in the casinos. And we love, love, love Louisiana home cooking. Michael and me -- we're not much for the shmancy fancy, so we try to look for homey places. We're leery of places where you have a lot of forks."

So, readers -- and cooks -- can look for the real Paula Deen this weekend -- plain old Paula. And there are sure to be laughs along the way.

"I don't take myself real seriously," she said. "To me the most important thing is laughter, and I have a lot of that in my life. "I heard the other day that laughing can add seven years to your life; honey, I could live to be real old!"

Like she says in her book, "Happiness shows."

Here's one of the dishes Deen cooked during the tough times. And note, faithful Deen fans, there's not a speck of butter in it:

"When I'm under stress and I sense that trouble's coming, I need to eat something hot, something substantial, and something that gives me what feels like strength and courage. There's nothing like dippin' into a bowlful of chili in such moments. Chili's a nourishing rib-sticker; you don't need no fancy food dishes when you need your strength. Y'all need chili.

"Note: Some Texans don't like beans with their chili. I do."

Courage chili

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 large onions, finely minced (about 2 cups)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons chili power

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

1 (10¾ ounce) can condensed French onion soup

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 (28 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with juice

2 (16-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained

1 large bag Fritos corn chips

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Brown the beef and 1½ cups of the onions in a large skillet. Drain off the pan drippings. Add the garlic powder, salt, chili powder, oregano, sugar, soup, flour, and Tabasco. Mix well. Simmer for 1 hour, covered, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes and beans, stir, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes longer.

When the chili is done, empty the bag of Fritos in a large serving bowl. Scoop the chili on top of the Fritos, and top it all with dollops of sour cream, the remaining ½ cup onions, and the cheese, which will melt all by itself on the chili. Serve immediately.